Paperback. Pub date: 1999 08 Pages: 270 Publisher: WW Norton & Co. In itain one person in 130 is A self-Mutilator; in the U.S. self-mutilation is almost as common as bulimia and anorexia. Yet the condition is not recognized as a clinical disorder and few understand it. This work has been written for the self-mutilator. parents. friends. and therapists and explains why the disorder manifests in self-harming behaviour and describes how the self-mutilator can be helped.